Be Still, My Love

by Deborah J. Hughes

  Hank’s gaze sharpened as he examined my face. It was easy to see he was trying to figure out my line of questioning. “Why you askin’?”

  I shrugged casually and walked over to the door that led onto the balcony. It was not latched closed and I pulled it open. Cool evening air blowing in from the ocean flooded the stuffy room. My back prickled and I had to fight the urge to turn around. “I’m just trying to get a feel for things as they were back when Abigail was alive. It might help me figure out why Abigail is haunting the house.”

  “Don’t believe in ghosts,” Hank said.

  “I do.”

  “Yeah, I heard said you talk to them. Do they really tell you stuff?”

  I swung around to look at Hank. He was re-hanging the curtains. I wondered if he was insinuating that I made up the responses I received from the Tri-State. “I can sometimes audibly hear them with my ears and sometimes only in my mind though their voice is distinctly different from my own internal voice. I can tell the difference.”

  Hank adjusted the curtains and then sent a glance my way that I couldn’t quite interpret. For certain he was skeptical about what I was telling him but there was also a quizzical look to his gaze. Was he coming around then? Or was he humoring me? “Hmmm. Well, if it is a ghost causing all this trouble, then you got your work cut out for ya. How do you get rid of a ghost?” He turned around and regarded me in such a way that I knew he hadn’t quite decided whether I was being genuine about this or if I were trying to pull the wool over his eyes.

  “Well, my answer to that is quite simple. I find out what is keeping them here and then try to help them cross into the light.”

  “Into the light? What does that mean?”

  Hank must not watch much television. “Well, for me it means that they are not consciously aware they have passed from physical existence and I try to help them realize that. Once they accept what has happened to them, they move into awareness … or into the light.”

  “Then what?”

  “They move on with their journey. And before you ask, I am not sure what that entails. I am not there yet.” And that was the easiest answer to give. Although I believed in reincarnation, that we actually live many different lives and so, technically, I had been there before, I was not, unfortunately, privy to those memories. It would have been pushing it to try and explain something like that to Hank. It was hard enough to get him to consider the idea of spirits, how to explain reincarnation? It was an area that I would someday explore for I knew it was possible, under hypnosis, to remember our past lives. Some people have even recalled what happened to them after their past lives ended. I would dearly love to go through that process but hadn’t had an opportunity as yet to do so. I instinctively knew it best not to go into any of this with Hank as I had already given him quite a bit to think about.

  “So have the ghosts told you anything useful?”

  I turned back toward the open door and gazed out at the balcony. The current of energy out there was strong. Since the past, present, and future is believed to coexist in the same instant, sensitives, otherwise known as psychics, could sometimes pick up on the energy of a future or past event. Especially if that event was emotionally charged. Whatever occurred out on that balcony had been a traumatic experience for Abigail. How to free her from it? “She’s afraid of something. I’m going to find out what she’s afraid of and I’m going to put her to rest.” Behind me Hank was silent. I swung around to find him frowning thoughtfully.

  “How are you going to do that?”

  “I’m going to try and make contact with her again. Tonight.”

  “Where?”

  I waved a hand around me. “This is the place that has the highest concentration of energy. So, I think I need to come here to do it. Do you have a key to the door, Hank?”

  He jingled a key ring attached to his belt. “Yup, right here. Why?”

  “Do you think I could borrow it for tonight? Nancy would probably rather I stay out of this room but I really think I can accomplish what I would like to do if I did it here.”

  “Is that safe? I mean, you saw the mess we just cleaned up.”

  I nodded solemnly and wondered why I was taking Hank into my confidences. His disbelief in my ability actually made him a better ally in this instance. Since he didn’t believe spirits existed or that I could contact them, he shouldn’t see any harm in letting me come up here alone. Of course, given the devastation of the room, he did believe there was a threat of some sort.

  Sure he was on the brink of granting my request, I rushed to reassure him. “I’ll lock the door behind me and bar it so even if there is another person with a key, they’ll make too much noise should they try to enter the stairwell. I’ll return the key to you in the morning and I’ll come clean with my actions when I see Nancy and Jack at breakfast.” Since I didn’t doubt for a minute that Kade, Nancy and Jack would object to my coming up here alone, my only recourse was to enlist Hank’s help. “There’s just one thing, Hank, I don’t want you telling anyone about this. Not one person.” Especially not George or Modesta.

  Hank frowned. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, little lady. How do you know it is safe?”

  “I just do. Spirits can’t hurt people, Hank. I already told you how I am going to ensure that no person in the living flesh can come up here and harm me either.”

  Hank looked down at the floor, thinking, and then he sighed in resignation, though his face looked troubled. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do … I’ll leave the door unlocked. When you are done, just lock it behind you.” He looked down at the key he was holding in his hand and frowned. It was quite obvious from the look on his face that he was having second thoughts about helping me and my heart sank in disappointment. Then I remembered Nancy telling me that she and Jack had the only key to the door.

  “Did you make a copy, Hank? I thought there was only one key?”

  Hank nodded absently, worry still etched all over his face. “I got the key from the office so I could come clean up the mess while everyone was busy with dinner.”

  “Do you think Jack will come check the door?”

  “He might.”

  Dang it. This hastily made plan might not work. “Well, I guess I’m going to have to pray he doesn’t come up to check.”

  Hank gave a short nod as he prepared to leave. “Save your prayers, little lady. I’m pretty sure Jack won’t have any cause to come up and check the door.”

  “Just in case he does and finds the door unlocked, we’ll blame it on the ghosts so he doesn’t get mad at you.”

  Hank snorted at that. “Hmmph. You think they’ll buy that cockamamie story?”

  I laughed. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

  Hank smiled as well, though the worry was still pretty evident in his pale blue eyes. “Just be careful. Don’t go out on the balcony.”

  “I won’t.” Hopefully, I wouldn’t need to do that for I didn’t feel safe out there. Though Kade would probably be suspicious, I felt sure Hank’s concern was genuine and that he was alarmed by my plan. I wasn’t so sure, though, on how to calm his fears. “I would never put myself in danger, Hank. I just want to help Abigail and Nathan move into the light.”

  “Why don’t you tell that Sinclair fellow about this? He’d make sure you were safe.”

  I smiled because he had a point. Kade would keep me safe. He also wouldn’t let me come up here alone. “I think he would be a little overprotective.”

  Hank’s eyes narrowed speculatively. “You and he hooking up are you?”

  Heat flooded my face and I turned away, glancing about the room, anywhere but at Hank. “We’re just good friends.”

  Hank chuckled. “Yeah, I know what that kind of friendship means. I just hope he’s good to you after all you’ve been through.”

  I was deeply touched by his concern. “He’s a good man, Hank. I think you have no cause for worry when it comes to Kade.”

  Hank lowered his gaze from mine and I wondered
what he was thinking. “Ok, guess I’ll have to trust your judgment on that one.” He shut the door to the balcony, latched it then picked up the garbage bags and waved for me to precede him down the stairs. “I hope I don’t regret this plan of yours. Better yet, I hope you don’t regret it.”

  As I followed Hank down the stairs, I began to worry just a little that Nancy and Jack might get upset with Hank for going along with my plan. I didn’t want him getting in trouble because of me. I was just going to have to be very convincing in the morning when I told them that Hank had no choice in the matter. And I prayed that my communication with Abigail would bring about the desired result. I was hoping that by helping her, Nathan would also benefit and the ghosts of Sea Willow Haven would be no more.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Surprisingly enough, considering all the people currently staying in the resort’s main building, I didn’t run into anyone on my way to my room. As I moved about settling in, guilt began to nibble at my conscience. I didn’t like being sneaky and that was exactly what I would have to be tonight when I made my way up to the turret room. But if my task was successful, wouldn’t Nancy and Jack be happy enough to forgive me? I was doing this for them after all. Besides, nothing was going to be damaged or taken. It wasn’t as if I were breaking any legal laws. Moral ones maybe since they had ruled the turret room off limits to guests. Wasn’t I more than just a guest though? I liked to think that I was also a friend and one they depended on to help put their restless ghosts to rest.

  Since the evening had gone a little cool, I put on a comfortable pair of jeans and a blue knit sweater before heading for the back garden for a walk. I needed to have a clear head and a centered calm. I achieved that best when communing with nature. Walking outside was very therapeutic and relaxing and I tried to do it as often as possible. Especially when preparing to do any sort of work with the Tri-State.

  When I walked out the back door, I found Raymond working on the fountain yet again. He glanced up as I approached and shook his head in frustration.

  “It keeps stopping. Can’t figure why. The pump is brand new and doesn’t seem to have anything wrong with it.” He pushed the access door to the pump closed and stood up. “It’s beyond me. Jack will have to call in a professional.”

  A chill crept along my spine and I moved passed Raymond to the spot where I had first seen Nathan. The same spot where Jeanine had fallen. The chill grew worse and I shivered in response. “Something happened here, Raymond.”

  Raymond leaned against the fountain’s wall and folded his arms, a frown etching his handsome face. After pausing a moment for some deep thought, he shook his head. “I don’t think so. I’m familiar with all the stories about this place and there is nothing said by anyone about this fountain.”

  A persistent pressure began to spread out along my spine up into my head. A feeling of panic soon followed and I knew that I was tapping into an emotional event from the past. And it happened here. “You haven’t heard any stories because no one knows. They are all dead.” Or were they?

  I knelt down and once again placed my hand on the ground. Nothing. I then turned and lay my hand on the fountain wall. Instantly everything changed. The early evening twilight became pitch dark and the calm breeze turned to whipping wind and rain. I had to struggle to maintain my balance and quickly swung around as alarm bells clanged in my brain insisting that I do so.

  A figure stood there, tall with an air of menace and strength. He was dressed in dark weather slickers. His hood hung low making it impossible to see his face. As soon as I turned toward him, he swung sharply. I had time only to see that he was holding a long dark object of some kind before it hit me in the head. Everything went dark for an instant and then I found myself on the beach. My head hurt so bad that I had to struggle against the confusion to remind myself that I was experiencing a past event. An event that happened to someone else. In order to carry this through, I was going to have to separate myself from the physical sensations flooding my body or I would not be able to continue. This sort of experience did not occur very often so it was a struggle to overcome my panic, relax, and observe what was happening with a sense of detachment. It was really tough to be an observer when the body I was spiritually merged with was being dragged without consideration over sharp rocks along the shore. My fury at the ruthlessness of Nathan’s attacker, and I was sure it was Nathan’s body being handled so brutally, was going to pull me out of the memory if I didn’t get a handle on it. My horror for what happened to that poor boy, however, was making me sick with nausea. I closed my eyes and focused on calming my clamoring emotions. As soon as I once again detached myself from the experience and assumed the role of observer, I opened my eyes and tried to get a good look at the assailant. The pounding rain pelting my face, however, was too blinding for me to see anything.

  Movement suddenly stopped. I lifted a hand to block the rain and tried again to get a look at my attacker. Lightening flashed across the sky just as he turned my way, a large rock clutched in his raised hands. I got only the impression of a young man before that rock came down.

  Immediately I found myself back at the fountain, sitting on the ground and wrapped in Raymond’s arms. He was obviously bewildered and panicked as he talked to me, his hand shaking noticeably as he stroked my hair. “Please come out of it, Tess. Please.”

  I patted his hand to let him know that I had done so. Raymond’s arms immediately went slack as he let me pull away from him. I brushed the hair from my face, took a deep breath and then gave Raymond’s concerned face a wry smile. “Sorry. I had a vision.”

  “Yeah, I kind of thought so but I didn’t know what to do. You just sort of fell on the ground and you didn’t respond to me at all.” Relieved that I was no longer in the throes of a vision, he pushed himself back to lean against the fountain wall. “What happened?”

  “Nathan didn’t crash into the rocks the night he died.”

  Raymond’s brow lifted in surprise. “He didn’t? So what happened? Did someone drown him in the fountain?”

  “No, but he was attacked here.” What I couldn’t figure out was why Nathan had come this way instead of using the tunnel? He had to have known about the tunnel for how else was Abigail sneaking away to be with him? “Whoever attacked him, dragged him down to the beach and killed him.”

  “Jesus. Are you sure about that?” Raymond’s eyes were so wide that for a moment he looked more like a little kid than a young man.

  “Yeah, pretty sure. His emotional energy was running quite high when he reached this spot that night. That must be why you are having trouble with the fountain. The residual energy still humming here keeps interfering with the electrical energy used to operate the lights and the pump. Once we help Nathan move on, his energy here should fade away. But since he’s so active, the energy attached to him is also active.” It made sense to me but probably sounded like craziness to Raymond. His expression, though, was not one of incredulity. He looked amazed and … dare I say … impressed?

  “Wow, Tess. This is amazing. So what do we do now?”

  I heaved a heavy sigh and lay my head back against the well wall. “I’m not sure.”

  Raymond reached over and patted my hand. I lay my head on his shoulder because I needed the comfort of warm human contact. Especially after experiencing human hatred at its worse.

  “Hey, what’s going on?”

  Kade’s calm voice startled both of us and Raymond hastily drew away and stood, giving me a hand up as he did so. Guilt at being caught sitting so close to Raymond made me feel as if I had just cheated on Kade and I knew it was silly to feel that way. Although Kade and I had shared several kisses, we had not made any commitments to each other. Still, I felt he deserved an explanation, especially as I was concerned he may misconstrue what he saw. “I had another vision.”

  Raymond waved toward the fountain behind us. “Tess says that Nathan was attacked here, dragged to the beach and murdered.”

  Kade’s dark eye
s shifted back to me, his gaze telling me that though he was interested in this new revelation, he was still speculating as to my relationship with Raymond. Trying my best to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I managed to nod my head in response to what Raymond just told him. “I just saw what happened, Kade. Raymond was working on the fountain and I came over here and felt the energy so tapped into it.”

  “She says the fountain won’t work because Nathan’s energy is messing with the electrical energy used to operate it. Is that cool or what?” Raymond smiled at me as if I’d just accomplished an amazing feat and I shifted uncomfortably.

  Kade’s silent gaze went from me to Raymond and then back to me before finally responding. “Pretty cool.” He reached out and brushed my hair back from my face, his dark intense gaze searching mine with tender concern. “Are you okay?”

  Touched by the gesture and the expression in his eyes, I felt a rush of tears and quickly glanced down at the ground so he wouldn’t notice them. “Yes, I’m fine.” Needing some time to compose myself, I started brushing the grass from my clothes and focused on that until my wayward emotions were once again under control.

  As if sensing I needed a moment, Kade waited until I stopped fidgeting with my clothes before firing off his questions. “Did you get a look at him? Do you have any idea who it was? Do you think it was Carter?”

  “Carter?” Raymond frowned, obviously trying to place the name. “Who is Carter?”

  “A man by the name of Carter used to work for Mr. Quartermaine,” I told him, wondering if I should spill the beans that Carter was also George’s brother. “He was friends with Abigail and we think he might know more about what happened the nights Nathan and Abigail died.” I felt there was no reason not to tell Raymond at least part of what we’d learned today. Kade’s blank expression gave nothing away and yet I had a distinct feeling he did not want me sharing too much information.

  Raymond’s eyes widened, his glance shifting back and forth between Kade and myself. “Do you think this Carter fellow killed Nathan?” That I did not know. I got nothing when I tried to feel out that question and it bothered me that all was quiet, for the present at least, from the Tri-State.